Standard Parts Research Articles

Stress-induced Antibiotic Susceptibility Testing on a Chip

We have developed a rapid microfluidic method for antibiotic susceptibility testing in a stress-based environment. Fluid is passed at high speeds over bacteria immobilized on the bottom of a microfluidic channel. In the presence of stress and antibiotic, susceptible strains of bacteria die rapidly. However, resistant bacteria survive these stressful conditions. The hypothesis behind this method is new: stress activation of biochemical pathways, which are targets of antibiotics, can accelerate antibiotic susceptibility testing. As compared to standard antibiotic susceptibility testing methods, the rate-limiting step - bacterial growth - is omitted during antibiotic application. The technical implementation of the method is in a combination of standard techniques and innovative approaches. The standard parts of the method include bacterial culture protocols, defining microfluidic channels in polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), cell viability monitoring with fluorescence, and batch image processing for bacteria counting. Innovative parts of the method are in the use of culture media flow for mechanical stress application, use of enzymes to damage but not kill the bacteria, and use of microarray substrates for bacterial attachment. The developed platform can be used in antibiotic and nonantibiotic related drug development and testing. As compared to the standard bacterial suspension experiments, the effect of the drug can be turned on and off repeatedly over controlled time periods. Repetitive observation of the same bacterial population is possible over the course of the same experiment.

Study on Civil Aviation Airworthiness Management Requirements for Standard Parts

Upon introducing the standard parts characteristics and usage in civil aviation, this article introduces the laws and regulations related to standard parts in the US and focuses on airworthiness management requirements in Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which include the evolution of standard parts management requirements and current U.S airworthiness management systems for Standard Parts. In view of the standard parts application status in China, this article presents analysis and comparison of different management system for standard parts between the two authorities of FAA and Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC). Some suggestions are provided to support certification requirements and improve the management of standard parts for the needs of civil aircraft development in China.

A monitoring system architecture and calculation of practical recycling rate for end-of-life vehicle recycling in Korea

End-of-life vehicles (ELVs) are important recycling sources, and there are several recycling stages, including dismantling, shredding, and treatment of the automotive shredder residues (ASR). The legal recycling rate should be at least 95% by 2015. To achieve this, a unified system to monitor the recycling of ELV parts and to calculate practical recycling rates is required. This paper describes a web-based monitoring system equipped with the databases for a standard parts list, dismantling & recycling, and standard recycling rate. The system effectively collects dismantling & recycling data, and it calculates a part’s recycling rate based on the collected data. It also facilitates the estimation of a reasonable recycling rate for unreported parts by utilizing a standard recycling rate and respective ratio of treatment. The system is designed and implemented in a Windows® environment, as part of a research project sponsored by the Ministry of Environment of Korea.

Handling Hazardous Part Variety: Metalcasting as a Case Point

Robot grippers are employed to handle parts in automated assembly operations. In conventional foundry assembly, such grippers are dedicated to large volume production of standard parts. However, due to varying customer preferences in the recent years of increased global competition, the foundry industry needs to cope with rapid market changes by increasingly relying on flexible automated assembly lines which are capable of handling a wide variety of parts in small to medium volume and variety. These flexible automated lines require flexible grippers to handle parts which are otherwise not safe to be handled by human operators. This paper discusses various handling methods for hazardous foundry parts. The paper presents an extensive literature review for handling such cast parts and sand cores and their respective shortcomings dependent on the delivery methods. Four versions of grippers developed and implemented for handling cast part variety at the case company have been presented.

T-145 Turbocharger Product Identification and Research Organizations

T-145 turbocharger for 170 series turbocharged diesel engine supporting one type of supercharger. Product quality system certification involves turbocharger manufacturing quality and use of quality aspects. Production of quality products , including the product design quality , production organization , quality parts , components and standard parts supply , assembly quality. Use quality turbocharger can be achieved in the course of the performance indicators.These indicators are in the laboratory by the engine manufacturer turbocharger performance test data . User Quality is the key to life test booster . On the client problems is to charge by the turbocharger manufacturer . The same is the product acceptable identification of the content . Turbocharger product certification process is the production quality system certification. Also Turbocharger Manufacturing and production certification. Access system in the implementation of the product after the turbocharger manufacturer 's products to meet the requirements of industry management standards , but also meet the requirements of the engine plant . Therefore, a product required after the completion of the trial process through the identification . Used to determine the level of products .

Applying GA Algorithm to the Modular Division for Distributed Reconfigurable Satellite System

For the problem of module division for distributed reconfigurable satellite system. A satellite function tree top-down is set up in this paper. And the genetic algorithm was applied in the module division. Finally the entire satellite was decomposed into various standard parts. In practice, users only need to combine those standard parts into a specific function module according to the requirements. Then send those modules into their orbit. And those modules through the way of formation flight, wireless connection to fulfill the task. Considering China's space development strategy, satellite systems long life and high reliability, upgrading, expansibility, satellite systems planning, running, production all kinds of uncertainty factors. Finally the satellite system was divided into 15 standard parts.

The Bacillus BioBrick Box: generation and evaluation of essential genetic building blocks for standardized work with Bacillus subtilis

BackgroundStandardized and well-characterized genetic building blocks are a prerequisite for the convenient and reproducible assembly of novel genetic modules and devices. While numerous standardized parts exist for Escherichia coli, such tools are still missing for the Gram-positive model organism Bacillus subtilis. The goal of this study was to develop and thoroughly evaluate such a genetic toolbox.ResultsWe developed five BioBrick-compatible integrative B. subtilis vectors by deleting unnecessary parts and removing forbidden restriction sites to allow cloning in BioBrick (RFC10) standard. Three empty backbone vectors with compatible resistance markers and integration sites were generated, allowing the stable chromosomal integration and combination of up to three different devices in one strain. In addition, two integrative reporter vectors, based on the lacZ and luxABCDE cassettes, were BioBrick-adjusted, to enable β-galactosidase and luciferase reporter assays, respectively. Four constitutive and two inducible promoters were thoroughly characterized by quantitative, time-resolved measurements. Together, these promoters cover a range of more than three orders of magnitude in promoter strength, thereby allowing a fine-tuned adjustment of cellular protein amounts. Finally, the Bacillus BioBrick Box also provides five widely used epitope tags (FLAG, His10, cMyc, HA, StrepII), which can be translationally fused N- or C-terminally to any protein of choice.ConclusionOur genetic toolbox contains three compatible empty integration vectors, two reporter vectors and a set of six promoters, two of them inducible. Furthermore, five different epitope tags offer convenient protein handling and detection. All parts adhere to the BioBrick standard and hence enable standardized work with B. subtilis. We believe that our well-documented and carefully evaluated Bacillus BioBrick Box represents a very useful genetic tool kit, not only for the iGEM competition but any other BioBrick-based project in B. subtilis.

Interdisciplinary Interconnections in Synthetic Biology

Synthetic biology is not a unified field. It involves many disciplines, from molecular genetics to biochemistry, and from engineering to bioinformatics. It includes xenobiological approaches that build and use artificial nucleic acids, metabolic reengineering of existing microbes, maybe using standardized parts and devices, creation of minimal organisms, bio-brick-biochemistry, and attempts to make synthetic organisms from scratch. The contributions to this thematic issue reflect on these scientific activities in synthetic biology and in related fields. They grew out of a workshop on the scientific, philosophical, and social dimensions of synthetic biology, including its research strategies, conceptual apparatus and societal implications. For many, the attraction of synthetic biology is its aim to apply in biology the methods of traditional engineering, especially rational engineering, using standardized components that allow plug-and-play modular design (Canton et al. 2008; Mutalik et al. 2013a, b). Rational engineering contrasts with creating desired systems through trial-and-error experimentation, which includes tried-and-true methods like tinkering and kludging, as well as sophisticated methods like generating and screening massive libraries of high-throughput wet-lab experimental data. Trial-and-error methods in synthetic biology also include familiar and widespread methods like in vitro (or directed) evolution (Yokobayashi et al. 2002), as well as new applications of machine-learning methods to make high-throughput experiments maximally intelligent and efficient (Caschera et al. 2010, 2011). Synthetic biology involves a plurality of experimental research programs. It includes top-down reengineering of existing life forms, for example, to mass-produce products such as pharmaceuticals (Martin et al. 2003) or biofuel (Savage et al. 2008). It also includes bottom-up attempts to create new minimal chemical life or ‘‘protocells’’ using nothing but non-living materials (Rasmussen et al. 2004, 2009a). Both top-down and bottom-up synthetic biology employ the two methods we contrasted above: rational engineering and trial-and-error experimentation. These two distinctions (top-down versus bottom-up, and rational engineering versus trial-and-error experimentation) define four quadrants in Table 1. These quadrants map achievements in synthetic biology and illustrate some of the field’s scientific plurality. Least familiar and least developed is the lower right quadrant of trial-and-error methods for bottomup synthetic biology, though some would argue that this quadrant also shows the most upside potential (e.g., Bedau 2013, this issue).

Synthetic Biology and Microdevices

Recent developments demonstrate that the combination of microbiology with micro- and nanoelectronics is a successful approach to develop new miniaturized sensing devices and other technologies. In the last decade, there has been a shift from the optimization of the abiotic components, for example, the chip, to the improvement of the processing capabilities of cells through genetic engineering. The synthetic biology approach will not only give rise to systems with new functionalities, but will also improve the robustness and speed of their response towards applied signals. To this end, the development of new genetic circuits has to be guided by computational design methods that enable to tune and optimize the circuit response. As the successful design of genetic circuits is highly dependent on the quality and reliability of its composing elements, intense characterization of standard biological parts will be crucial for an efficient rational design process in the development of new genetic circuits. Microengineered devices can thereby offer a new analytical approach for the study of complex biological parts and systems. By summarizing the recent techniques in creating new synthetic circuits and in integrating biology with microdevices, this review aims at emphasizing the power of combining synthetic biology with microfluidics and microelectronics.

Making big promises come true? Articulating and realizing value in synthetic biology

Synthetic biology is an emerging approach to biotechnology that strives to use engineering principles and practices to design and make new organisms. Proponents of synthetic biology have big aspirations for this field, citing potential for an industrial revolution in biotechnology. This article is concerned with how value is being negotiated and constituted through practice in synthetic biology – through the promises being made, through the objects and products being produced, through the initiatives and institutions being established, and through the work practices and justificatory strategies of synthetic biologists. In particular, I focus on negotiations surrounding the making, use and circulation of BioBrick™ standard biological parts. BioBricks are presented as tools that will make genetic engineering more efficient and reliable, and are accompanied by a particular imagination of innovation and value creation in synthetic biology. But exploring valuation practices in action reveals a number of sites of ambivalence and contestation over the BioBrick approach to synthetic biology. Through a series of vignettes, I show how these negotiations over the promises and practices surrounding BioBricks are configuring the epistemic foundations and design space of the field, and are helping to define what value means in synthetic biology.

Weak Emergence Drives the Science, Epistemology, and Metaphysics of Synthetic Biology

Top-down synthetic biology makes partly synthetic cells by redesigning simple natural forms of life, and bottom-up synthetic biology aims to make fully synthetic cells using only entirely nonliving components. Within synthetic biology the notions of complexity and emergence are quite controversial, but the imprecision of key notions makes the discussion inconclusive. I employ a precise notion of weak emergent property, which is a robust characteristic of the behavior of complex bottom-up causal webs, where a complex causal web is one that is incompressible and its behavior cannot be derived except by crawling through all of the gory details of the interactions in the web. The central thesis of this article is that synthetic biology centrally is the activity of engineering the desired weak emergent properties of synthetic cells. Synthetic biology has many different ways to engineer desired weak emergent properties of synthetic cells, including Edisonian trial and error, standardized parts, refactoring, and reprogramming synthetic genomes. The article ends by noting two philosophical consequences of engineering weak emergence. One is epistemological: synthesis is crucial for discovering weak emergent properties. The other is metaphysical: simple life forms are nothing but complex chemical mechanisms.

Computer-aided checking fixture design system for automobile parts

Checking fixture design is a complicated task requiring a strong professional background and rich practical experience. In order to enhance design efficiency and quality, this paper proposes a computer-aided checking fixture design methodology. The key issues include a new minimal volume bounding box generation approach for workbench design, a multi-objective optimisation algorithm of locator layout for location design, a multi-surface extension and transition method for checking components design and a flexible part library system to reuse standard parts and to assemble them automatically. As an implementation of the system based on the key methods, Checking Fixture Design Wizard for automobile parts, a plug-in on CAD software, is developed. Finally, a car door checking fixture design is taken as a case study to verify its feasibility and practicability.

Rapid Design Platform of Gear Box Based on Modern Design Methods of Pro/E

It is studied that Modern Design Methods based on Pro/Engineer software. The building process of rapid design platform of gear box is given systematically by applying top-down design techniques of data sharing mode, parametric modeling tools of standard parts, interchangeable parts library and kinematic simulation analysis methods. The solid modeling and simulation analysis of gear box is completed. The rapid design platform can provide technical support for manufacturing companies to adapt to quick changes of market and to research and develop series products efficiently.

Light and Electron Microscopy Studies of the Visible Diffusion Zone of Mild Steel Pack Cyanided in Processed Cassava Leaves

This study investigates the microstructure of the visible diffusion zone formed in low carbon steel pack cyanided using processed cassava leaves. Standard parts machined from low carbon steel were pack cyanided by high temperature in-situ diffusion of nascent carbon and nitrogen into austenite. Formation of a visible diffusion zone was confirmed after observation with a Reichert-Jung Polyval optical microscope coupled with Zeiss AxioCam ICc 1 camera. High magnification Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) imaging of the visible diffusion zone was done with a CamScan Series 2 scanning electron microscope. The zone was found variable in depth as measured from a representative position. The structure of all samples consists of ferrite and pearlite as determined by optical and SEM examination. Resulting products were thus both tough and hard suitable for service environments requiring high resistance to both wear and impact failure.

Development of the Data Driven 3D Standard Part Library Based on Pro/E

Aiming at the problems such as updating difficulty, searching slowly and calling inconveniently occurs in use of current 3D Standard Part Library, the method to classify Standard Part data by function and the corresponding operations of each type of classified Standard Part data are analyzed firstly based on the real application and management requirements of the 3D Standard Parts Data. Then, the conception and the architecture of the data driven 3D Standard Part library is discussed based on the goal such as quick retrieve, automatic modeling and dynamical update of the Standard Part data and the methods as well as the key technology to develop the data driven 3D Standard Part Library are discussed based on the Pro/E and Access.

Casting Mold Designing for Double-Chamber Throttle Valve

The structure and processing of double chamber throttle valve body castings were analyzed. Die-casting molding process scheme was established. The design of mold includes three core-drawing mechanisms. Considering the large parts surface area and the relatively small wall thickness and the requirement of parting, the gate was arranged on the casting bottom surface. For economy and die easy maintenance considerations, die-casting machine, mold, and mold standard parts should be standard parts. The designs of mold gating system and non-standard pieces were completed. Proved by actual production, the mold operated smoothly, without clamping stagnation, and the production of die castings meet delivery requirements.

3D Quasi-Dynamic Load Contact Analysis of Conjugate Spur Gear

In order to provide a profitable and cost-effective way in maintaining a machine, it is necessary to prepare an economical way to provide service manipulation is to prepare standard and stable spare parts, replacements, and consumables in stock. The problem of accurate prediction of load, deformation and stresses in 3D contacts is then revisited. Most research has used one, two or three pairs of meshing teeth to simulate the mating process. It is insufficient to describe the entire process of three contact zones during each mating pair. By implementing a combined 3D face-contact and FEM, contact stress analysis between two spur gear teeth was considered in eleven different contact positions during a full mating process. The proposed approach provides a complete and effective solution of the contact problem in quasi-dynamic way. Instead of applying more fixed boundary conditions to constrain and simplify material behavior in 2D models, point and line contact of tooth surfaces are substituted by a face contact model of teeth in this article.

Study on Mould Design with NX Based on Knowledge Reuse Technology

Mould design is a complex process which mainly uses fixed design process or design approach. It has certain similarity or repeatability. In order to avoid duplication of effort and improve the efficiency of the mould design, present a mould design method based on NX knowledge reuse technology, establish the standard parts library, so as to realize the target of high-quality, short-cycle and low-cost in mould design. At last, the mobile phone shell mould design example is given to verify the feasibility and practicability of the mould design based on NX knowledge reuse technology.

Casting Mold Designing for Aluminum Alloy Car Holders

The structure and processing of car holders castings were analyzed. Die-casting molding process scheme was established. The design of mold includes three core-drawing mechanisms. the gate of the gating system was arranged on the casting bottom surface. For economy and die easy maintenance considerations, die-casting machine, mold, and mold standard parts should be standard parts. The designs of mold gating system and non-standard pieces were completed with the aid of PROE. Proved by actual production, the mold operated smoothly, without clamping stagnation, and the production of die castings meet delivery requirements.

Balancing supply chain competitiveness and robustness through “virtual dual sourcing”: Lessons from the Great East Japan Earthquake

In view of the unprecedented devastation of the Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE), the psychological overreaction tends to emphasize the safety aspects at the expense of the basic principle of designing industrial supply chains that achieve competitiveness and robustness simultaneously. Manufacturing firms must identify the “weak links” in their supply chains in terms of dependence, visibility, substitutability and portability. The objectives of this paper are (1) to critically evaluate proposed changes to damaged supply chains such as adding inventory, adopting standardized parts, physically duplicating line production and equipment, and evacuating whole facilities; (2) to propose “virtual dual sourcing”, in which the firm facing supply chain disruptions caused by a disaster carefully choose either to quickly recover a damaged line or transfer critical design information to a substitute line. Effective implementation of the virtual dual solution will require simultaneously enhancing the design information's portability, the supplier's visibility, and the firm's capabilities at process recovery and production substitution.